Hubble Discovers Oldest Known Galaxy

The Hubble space telescope has discovered seven primitive galaxies formed in the earliest days of the cosmos, including one believed to be the oldest ever detected.The discovery, announced Wednesday, is part of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field campaign to determine how and when galaxies first assembled following the Big Bang."This 'cosmic dawn' was not a single, dramatic event," said astrophysicist...

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Fiscal Cliff Talks' Latest Victim? Sandy Relief

President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner just can't seem to break through an impasse in their "fiscal cliff" talks, increasing pessimism about a deal by Christmas and now threatening to sidetrack billions in federal aid for victims of superstorm Sandy.After weeks of public posturing and private negotiations, both sides remain firmly dug in with their opposing positions...

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Another year wasted by climate negotiators

INTERNATIONAL climate change talks turned 18 earlier this month, but there was little sign that their wasted youth is over. The 18th annual climate change summit in Doha, Qatar, might have ended with an apparent victory for developing nations, but in reality the world is barely any nearer to facing up to its responsibilities. ...

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UN court sentences Srebrenica commander to life for genocide

THE HAGUE: The UN's Yugoslav war crimes court found Bosnian Serb general Zdravko Tolimir guilty of genocide for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, Europe's worst atrocity since World War II, and sentenced him to life in jail."The majority of the court finds you guilty" of crimes including genocide, judge Christoph Flugge told the Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the...

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Samsung knocks Apple maps in Sydney marketing stunt

Samsung is apparently not keen on letting Apple's recent maps mishap in Australia go unnoticed, and is poking fun of its rival in downtown Sydney today.CNET Australia has snapped pics of a little guerrilla marketing by Samsung featuring a muddied up vehicle with a tent and other camping supplies. Next to it is a sign that says "Oops, should have gotten a Samsung Galaxy S III. Get navigation you can...

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Best Space Pictures of 2012: Editor's Picks

Photograph courtesy Tunç Tezel, APOY/Royal ObservatoryThis image of the Milky Way's vast star fields hanging over a valley of human-made light was recognized in the 2012 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition run by the U.K.’s Royal Observatory Greenwich.To get the shot, photographer Tunç Tezel trekked to Uludag National Park near his hometown of Bursa, Turkey. He intended to watch the moon...

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Oregon Mall Shooting Hero Gets Customer to Safety

A store employee at the Clackamas Town Center mall used his knowledge of the shopping complex to hustle a customer out of the building during Tuesday's shooting rampage and then twice went back inside to guide other shoppers to exits and safety.Allan Fonseca, who works at Lancome counter in Macy's and was waiting on Jocelyn Lay when they heard shots fired about 3:30 p.m. Thinking...

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Out-of-season's greetings from the Arctic frost flowers

Joanna Carver, reporter(Image: Matthias Wietz/IGERT/NSF)Season's regards from an icy meadow in the Arctic, but it's no winter wonderland and please don't dash out into it. These frost flowers generally form in spring, and only on thin ice, so you'd quickly find yourself in freezing water in a sparsely populated area.Frost flowers form in calm conditions when the atmosphere is much colder than the...

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Mass protest as Michigan curbs union rights

CHICAGO: Thousands of protesters descended on Michigan's state capitol Tuesday as lawmakers prepared to pass union-curbing "right-to-work" legislation in a state seen as the heart of the labor movement.The measure would weaken unions by allowing workers who get the same wages and benefits as union members to decline to pay any union dues.Democratic lawmakers begged their Republican colleagues...

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Sony launches new entertainment app for Xperia users

Sony is launching an app aimed at Xperia smartphone users that grants access to additional music, film, and sports content. Sony Mobile Communications, a subsidiary of Japanese electronics maker Sony, announced today that a new app, called the Xperia Lounge, has been released in beta. Available on Google'sAndroid operating system, Xperia Lounge contains "backstage" content based around music, film,...

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